Motor-vehicle.



H. P. MAXIM.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED H3347, 1008.

1,021,061 Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

a T 9 1 -7 A a3 E O n ,26 44 32 I E r o 1:

- WITNESSES H. P. MAXIM.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLIOATION I'ILED 11mm, 1908.

1 ,O21,061 Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES.

H. P. MAXIM.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED IBB.27,1908.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

H. P. MAXIM.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED IEB.27,1908. 1 1,021,061. Patented Mar.26, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

r j I, 7 nig //7 g; H 2: E? 3 J J5 W/TNESSES. //v new 70/? UNITED srarns PATENT OFFICE.

111mm r. MAXIM, or HAMI'ORD, oonnmc'rrcu'r, ASSIGNOB To run wavnnmtvcotrm, ormnnmaroms, INDIANA, a oonrona'rron or mama MOTOR-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 27, 1908. Serial No. 418,058.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM' P. MAXIM, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Hartford; in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and Improved Motor-Vehi'cle,-of which'the following is a specification.

My invention relates more especially to that class of motor vehiclesdesigned for use on highways, and the objects of the invention, amongothers are to provide an extremely simple construction in the supportfor the motor and driving mechanism; and also a construction of suchmechanism that shall be extremely strong, durable and efliciont. Oneform of device in the use of which these objects maybe attained isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a topview of a port-ion of a vehicle embod ing my invention, the body beingremove'c and the arts-broken away to show construct-ion. ig. 2 is a viewon enlarged scale in rear elevation partially in section of the vehicle,parts beyond being omitted. Fig.3 is' a detail view, scale en-- 7 largedfrom Fig. 2, showing the manner of supporting the springs upon the axle.Fig.

' l is a detail view partially in section through the hubv of the wheelon the plane of the axis. Fig, 5, is a detailview in section through therear axle on the line .5.-5 of Fig. .1 looking toward the adjacentwheel,

the scale being enlarged from that of Fig. 1.

Fi 6 is a detailview in side elevation, partia' ly 'in section, showingthe manner of mounting the gear' casings and construction of mechanismtherein, scale enlarged over Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 7 is a view partiallyin section through the gear casing and contained parts on plane denotedby the line 7? of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a view in section through a portionof the mechanism on plane denoted by the line 8-8 of Fig. 7, scaleenlarged over Fig. 7. I

My invention is readily adapted to use '11 connection with a motorvehicle of the e cotric type, and for this reason such a vehicle hasbeen selected by me. for the purpose of illustration and description ofmy inven tion. It will, however, be understood that the invention is notlimited or confined to use in a vehicleof this class, but may be readilY adapted to vehicles of other types, and tie construction of parts maybe departed from to a considerable extent and yet embody the inventionin all essential particulars. I In the accompanying drawin the nu meral12 denotes the rear or driving wheels of the vehicle, which may be ofany approved form of construction. The rear wheels only of the vehicleare shown herein,

Patented Mar. 26,1912.

and the mechanism appurtenant to the front 1 r of the vehicle is alsoomitted as not being necessary to a complete understanding of myinvention.

- An axle 13 is mounted in the wheels extending from one to the other.This axle has a portion 14 ofi'set preferably toward the front of thevehicle, the offset portion at each end bein quite close to the drivingwheels, as plamly shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. The oifsetportion 14 is further offset downward and toward the front, as at 15(see Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings) for the purpose of allowing certainparts of-the mechanism to be properly placed upon the frame. v

The axle, as to those parts located within the supporting wheels, ishollow as at 16 and upon which the hubs 17 of the wheels 12 are mounted.For convenience in construcit being understood that the construction 0each hub is the same.

Roller bearings 18 are located between the inner surface of the hub andthe tubular axle arm 16, these hearings being of anv approved type ofconstruction. The hub 17, at its outer end, has slots 19, preferablylocated on diametrically opposite sides of the hub, and in these slotsare located rollers 20. These rollers are mounted upon studs 21projecting from the sides of a roller support 22 secured atthe end ofthe outer section 23 of the driving shaft that projects from the innerside of the wheel outward through the hub. This support is held inposition 111 any desired manner, as by means of a nut 24, and

tion a single hubonly will now be described after the ordinary'manner.

A brake drum 26 is secured to the wheel, but as this drum of. itselfforms no part of my invention and its operation isreadily understood bythose sl il ed in the art further description is .deemed unnecessaryherein.

Extendin in an opposite direction from that in whic the axle is offset,and from the a cap 25 secured to the hub closes the parts offset portion14, and secured to said offset portion is a bracket 27. This bracket, asshown'in Fig. 5, preferably has a recess within which the offset portion14 of the axle is located. This-bracket has a spring seat 28 upon whichthe spring 29 is located. The bracket is of such length that the springis seated vertically over and. in the plane of the axis of that-portionof the 19 axle located within the driving wheel. Projecting in theopposite direction the bracket has a bearing 30 for a brake shaft 31 to-which a brake arm 32 is connected, a con- ;necting rod 33 extending tobrake operating 5 mechanism to -be hereinafter described. The oppositeend-of the shaft 31 is suitably connected with the brake mechanismappurtenant to the drum 26, which, for reasonsabove stated, is not morefully described herein. It will, of course, be understood that themechanism just described is duplicated at the opposite end of the axle.

The side bars 34 of the frame are of inverted T shape in cross-section,as shown in Fig. 2 of the' drawings, the stem being formed by bendingthe metal backward and preferably separating it gradually from the endtoward the cross part of' the T, as plainly shown in the figures. Theouter flanges 35 or portion'of the cross of the T of the side bars aresecured to frame supporting arms 38 pivoted at their lower ends to thesprings 29. The inner flanges 36 form a rest for'cross bars which serveto 85 rigidly unite the parts and also as a support for parts locatedupon the frame. The stem 37 affords a rest against which the ends of thecross-bars may thrust and also for the sills of the body which arelocated upon said flanges 35.

Cross-bars 39 extend between and are secured to the side-bars, asplainly shown in Fig. 1, in such position as may be desired to properlystrengthen the frame and also to support parts carried by the frame.Supporting bars 40 are located between the sidebars, being supported bycross-bars 39, thesesupporting bars serving to support controllermechanism or other mechanism, as may be desired. Upon the cross-bars 39,lo-

cated near the rear end of the sidebars, are

' bearings 41 for a. support 42. This support 1 18 preferably in theform of a shaft having a permissive rotation in its bearings. A

motor, in the form shown of the electric type, is suspended from thisshaft, the motor casing 43 .having lugs 44. to which caps or straps 45are secured, openings 46 formed by the lugs and caps affording means forthe reception of the supporting shaft 42. The bearings 41 for this shaftare located in the upper ends of brackets 47. A motor of any approvedtype of construction including fields 48 and an armature49 is suspendedfrom the shaft 42, the motor casing 43 being recessed as at 50 at theend of the opening into the shell, this recess receiving a plate 51..This plate is rigidly secured to the motor casing 43, and a housing fora po tion of the driving mechanism is firmly secured'to this plate. Thishousing is preferably formed in two sections- 52, 53. The plate 51 maybe secured inplace in any suitable manner as by means of headed screws,

e the heads of which may be countersunk into the surface of the plate.

The housing as a Whole includes a tubularly formed portion 54 overlyinga circularly formed portion 55. The two sections of the housing meetpreferably on the line of theaxis of a helix shaft 56 and are secured asby means of bolts passing through openings 57 in flanges on the sectionsof the housing. r

A helix shaft 56 extends lengthwise of the tubular portion 54 of thecasing and has suitable bearings therein preferably of the ball type,the bearing 58 at the outer end of the shaft being a ball thrust bearingof any suitable form, and the bearing 59 being of the ball bearing type,also of any suitable form of, construction. 1

The plate 51 is recessed as at 104 for the reception of the ballbearings 60, it being understood that this bearing includes the ballsand its casing and bearing ring. The tubular portion 54 is counterboredas at 105 to receive the bearing plate 106 against which balls of thethrust'bearing rest. A

cap 107 is secured to the tubular portion 54 to close the opening in theend thereof, this cap having a bearing plate v108 opposing thrust of theballs against the plate 106. The tube 54 is suitably formed as shown toreceive and retain the various ball bearings.

A coupling 61 unites the helix shaft with the motor shaft 62, the latterhaving a ball bearing 60 also of suitable form and construction. Ahelical gear 63 is locate'd'on the shaft 56, this gear having quite asteep pitch. In the form herein shown it includes four helices, each ofcourse extending one or more times about the shaft.

The gear 63 meshes with a helix wheel 64 which includes in itsconstruction a ring 65 having teeth suitably formed to mesh with heliceson the gear 63, said ring being inclosed between rims 66 secured to theouter ends of arms 67. These arms project from a hub 68, there being tworows of arms about the hub, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings, the hubin fact consisting of two members joined by the arms and rims to formthe wheel 64. The hub of this helix Wheel is loosely mounted uponacompensating shaft 69 mounted in the sections 52, 53 of'the housing andhaving the usual compensating gears 70 secured thereto and meshing witha bevel pinion' 71 upon a stud 72 secured in the rim of the helix Wheel.My invention take up any wear between. the parts.

In'the form of the invention as herein shown the stud 72 1s threaded, asseen in Fig. (5 of the drawings, and a nut 73 is located upon thisthreaded portion of the stud. The nut is flanged and ball bearings 7 4are located between'the back of the pinion 71 and this flange on thenut. 'lhe nut is squared as at 75, or may be made of other non-circularshape, and lips 76 extend from the arms 07 located on opposite sides ofthe nut to rest against its squared portion, there being two lips fromeach arm as plainly shown, in Fig. 8 of the drawings. It will be seenfrom this construction that the nut is securely held against turningmovement, but by loosening the bolts 77 that hold the two rim members ofthe geaitogether the lips may be disengaged from the nut, the latterturned to properly adjust the parts, and then by securing the rimsimposition the nut is securely held against accidental movement.

The compensating shaft 69 is connected at each end with the innersections78 of the driving shaft, universal joints 79 of any approvedform and construction uniting the ends of the compensating shaft withthe section 78 of the driving shaft, and the latter also being connectedby like joints or any other approved form of universal joint with theouter sections 23 of the driving shaft. Brace rods 80 are pivoted atopposite ends to the housing and to theside-bars 3.4. respectively, asplainly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, these rods being adjustablelengthwise as by means of the threaded adjusting sleeves 81, theconstruction and operation of which will be readily understood by anexamination of Fig. 2 of the drawings.

It will be seen from thisconstruction and the description hereinabovethat themotor casing and the housing for the intermeshing members arecomposed practically of a single unit, the parts being rigidly securedtogether and moving as a single piece. The

whole structure has a pivotal movement by means of its connection withthe shaft support 42, and by means of the sleeves 81 the parts may bebrought into posit-ion to properly connect with the driving members, andin thus adjusting the motor and its immediate connected parts theadjustment between such parts is not disturbed, because they all move asa unit. Brace bars 82 extend diagonally between the side-bars 34 and thecross-bar 39 located near the rear end of the side-bars.

The spring seat 28 is provided withslots 109 through which the ends ofU-shaped clips 110 projectand upon the ends of which nuts 111 arethreaded for the purpose of ot' the wheel. carrying said spring seat bya means of the bracket 27 backward from the offset portion 14 of theaxle, the weight of the vehicle is supported in the vertical plane ofthe axis of the wheel, the effect heing the same as though the axle werestraight. By offsetting the axle toward the front of the vehicle, thatis, inward, the motor and gear casings are located in position toprovide an extremely compact form of vehicle, and this formation of theaxle provides an extremely sightly construction.

Means for guiding the vehicle consist of a bracket 83 secured to one ofthe side bars 34, and having a neck 84 slotted as at 85, and containinga supporting sleeve 87 secured as by means of screws 86 closing saidslot. A steering post 88 projects through the sleeve having a steeringarm'89 at one end connected by a rod 90 with the steering mechanism. Acontroller sleeve 91 mounted upon the sleeve 87 bears a toothed segment92 moshing with a segment 93 upon a controller shaft 94. the latterbeing supported in a projection 95 from the bracket 83. A handle 96extends from a band 96' mounted to rotate with the sleeve 91. controlledin its movement by means of a ring 7 having s ots 98*99 to receive apawl 202 mounted upon the band 96. These slots are connected by anopening providing shoulders 100 and 101 to control the movement of thepawl. A binding screw 96" exerts a yielding pressure upon the pawl, anda handle 103 is secured to the upper part of the steering post 88.

My improved device is especially constructed to provide means forcausing perfect inter-meshing of the helical gear and helix wheel and atthe same time produce a satisfactory bearing. To this end the journals115 ofthe helix wheel 64 have tapered sleeves 116 between which and atapered bearing 117 the rollers are mounted. Washers 118 are locatedbetween the sides of the helix wheel and the ends of tapered sleevesllfi. By transposing the washers from one side to the other of the helixwheel its position with respect to the helical gear may. be changed tocause a perfect mesh between said members. By introducing washers anywear between the parts maybe taken up, this construction allowing thehelix wheel to be changed laterally without atfecting. the bearingparts.

I claimp 1. A-vehicle includin traction wheels and a frame carried bysai wheels, a. gear casing and a motor casing rigidly connected as aunit, one of said casings being supported by the frame and whollysupporting the other casing, and driving mechanism mounted within thecasing and operatively connected with the motor and includingintermeshing gears, the axis of one of said gears being locatedtransversely to the axis of the motor shaft and operatively connectedwith the traction wheels.

2. A vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried by saidwheels, a gear casin and a motor casin ri idl connected as a unit andone supporting the other, one of sa1d caslngs being mounted for adustment laterally of the frame, means for securing said adjustment, amotor mounted within the motor casing, and driving mechawith respect tothe frame and for rigidly holding it in such position, driving mechanismlocated within the casing, and connected with the motor, and operativeconnections between the driving mechanism and traction wheels.

4. A vehicle including traction Wheels and a frame carried thereby, agear casing f and a motor casing connected as a unit and 'movablysupported on saidframe, means for adjustably moving the casing withrespect to the frame and for retaining it rigidly in such position, amotor locatednin the motor casing, driving mechanism located in the gearcasing and operatively connected with the motor, the axis of one of thedriving members being practically in line with the axis of the tractionWheels, andv operative connections between the driving mechanism andtraction wheels to drive the latter. 7

5. In a vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried thereby, am'otor casing mounted on the frame, a motonmounted in the casing, aremovable plate closing the opening into the motor casing, a sectionalgear casing "secured to said plate and divided on a vertical diametricalline across said plate, said gear casing including a tu bularportionwith its axis in line with the motor shaft and a circularportionlocated thereunder, a helical gear mounted in the tubular portionand with its shaft connected with the motor shaft, a helix wheel mountedin the, circular portion and meshing with said gear, and connectionsbetween said helix wheel and traction wheels to drive the latter: r

6. In a vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried thereby, amotor casing mounted on the frame, a motor mounted in the motor casing,a removable plate closing the opening into the motor casing, a gearcasingsecured to and whollysupported by I said plate and containinggearing located in said casing, and connections between said gearing andthe traction wheels to driw. the latter.

7 A vehicle including traction wheels and a-frame carried by saidwheels, a motor casing and a gear casing connected as a unitand movablysupported on said frame, extensible supporting rods connecting theVehicle frame and unitcasing whereby said frame and casing are rigidlyconnected, a motor located within the casing, driving mechanism locatedwithin the casing and connected with the motor, and operativeconnections between the driving mechanism and traction wheels. p

8. A vehicle including traction wheels and a frame supported thereby, asupporting shaft mounted in bearings on the frame, amotor casing and agear casing connected as a unit and suspended from said shaft,extensible rods extending between the casing and frame, a motor locatedwithin the easing, driving mechanism located within the casing, andconnections between the driving mechanism and said traction wheels.

9. Supporting wheels, an axle havin arms to be located in said wheelsand an off set portion, brackets extending from the offset portion andhaving spring seats, springs supported-by said brackets, the points ofsupport being located in a plane passing vertically through the axis ofthe supporting wheels, a vehicle frame mounted on said springs, a motorcasing and a gear casing connected as a unit and mounted on the vehicleframe, a motor located in the motor casing, gearing located in the gearcasing and connected with the motor, driving means extending through theaxle arms, and connections between the driving means and gearing.

10.,In a vehicle including traction wheels and a frame, a motor casingsupported onl the frame, a motor located within the casing, a gearcasing including a tubular portion, a gear shaft mounted in the tubularportion, a cap closing said tubular portion, side bearings for saidshaft located inthe tubular'portion, thrust bearings located. in saidcap, traction wheels, and connections between the gear shaft andtraction wheels.

11. A vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried thereby, ashaft supported on the frame, a motor casing suspended from said shaftand rotatably adjustable thereon, a gear casing wholly sup ported bysaid motorcasing, a motor located a w1th1n the motor casin drivingmechanism,

located within the gear casing and connected with the motor, andoperative connectionsbetween the drlving mechanism and tract-ion wheels.

12. A vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried thereby, ashaft mounted on said frame, a motor casing suspended from said shaft, agear casing connected as a vunit with the motor :casing and whollysupported thereby, means for rotatably adjustmg theposition of. themotor casing, a mo- .tor located within the casing,.driving mechanismlocated within'the casing and con-.- nected with the motor, andoperativeconnections between the driving mechanism and traction wheels.1'

13. A vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried thereby, ashaft supported on the frame at one end thereof, a

motor casin suspended from the shaft and rotatably a justable thereby, agear casi located beyond the end of the frame an wholly supported bysaid motor casing, a

motor located within the motor casing, driving mechanism located withinthe gear casing and connected with the motor, and

operative connections between the driving mechanism and tractionwheels.

'14. A vehicle including traction wheels and a frame carried thereby, ashaft supported on the, frame, a-motor casing suspended from the shaft,and having an open operative connections between the driving mechanismand tract-ion wheels.

" HIRAM P. MAXIM.

Witnesses:

A'n'rntm B. JENKINS, LENA E. Bn1u;ovrrcn.

